HertZj    Ll'M  ian 
Abraham  L  i  nco!  ' 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


t§-- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

By 

LILLIAN  HERTZ 

(Act.  14) 


Prize  Essay  in 

Alexander   Hamilton  Junior   High   School 

P.  S.  186 

June  24,  1927 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
By  LILLIAN  HERTZ 

In  the  days  when  the  United  States  was  a  small 
country,  when  everyone  was  struggling  to  build  it  up 
and  to  make  it  prosperous,  a  child  was  born  who,  in 
later  years  became  our  martyred  president,  Abraham 
Lincoln.  This  man  who  had  to  struggle  from  childhood 
and  who  led  a  very  hard  and  trying  life  grew  to  be  one 
of  the  greatest  men  the  United  States  has  had  in  its 
short  history. 

There  was  a  dispute  between  the  North  and  the  South 
about  the  well  known  question  of  slavery,  so  in  1860 
when  Lincoln  was  elected  president  all  eyes  turned 
toward  him  and  everyone  wondered  what  course  he 
would  take  in  saving  the  Union.  Everything  was  in  a 
turmoil.  The  North  had  done  everything  in  its  power, 
with  the  one  exception  of  declaring  war  against  the 
South  which  had  formed  a  Confederacy.  If  Lincoln  took 
steps  which  favored  the  Southerners  the  North  would 
rebel,  if  he  sided  with  the  Northerners  the  South  would 
rebel. 

In  his  inaugural  address  Lincoln  said  that  he  would 
not  abolish  slavery  but  would  leave  it  in  the  states  where 
it  was  even  though  he  would  not  let  other  states  that 
might  later  join  the  Union  have  it.  Again  all  the  people 
were  dissatisfied.  Finally,  after  many  years  of  hard 
struggling  by  men  who  tried  to  make  compromises  be- 
tween the  North  and  the  South,  in  order  to  save  this 


~7  /->•  1  L^^:^ 


new  nation  from  destruction,  the  Union  divided.  Thus 
war  raged  throughout  the  country.  The  people  were  now 
resolved  to  fight  and  decide  this  question  of  slavery  once 
and  for  all.  The  Union  determined  to  have  all  the  states 
forever  free,  and  the  Confederates  fought  for  slavery. 

During  these  dark  days  of  this  war  of  wars,  Lincoln 
was  burdened  with  responsibilities  so  heavy  that  it  is  a 
miracle  he  ever  survived.  Besides  many  very  heavy 
duties  which  he  had  to  perform  he  had  to  listen  to  the 
heart-breaking  pleas  of  men  and  women,  young  and  old, 
who  had  pleadingly  come  to  him  for  pardons  for  their 
sons,  husbands,  or  relatives  who  had  violated  some  law 
of  the  army  and  were  to  be  punished  or  even  shot.  He 
pardoned  so  many  that  the  officers  under  him  declared 
that  he  was  ruining  the  discipline  of  the  armies. 

Ever  since  his  youth  Lincoln  was  a  strong  and  famous 
speaker.  He  had  amused  his  neighbors  by  telling  funny 
stories  or  tales,  and  when  he  grew  to  manhood  he  de- 
livered many  inspiring  orations.  The  fact  that  he  was 
one  of  our  greatest  orators  was  made  known  in  1858  by 
his  debate  with  Stephen  A.  Douglass.  Critics  consider 
Lincoln's  Peoria  speech  of  1854  the  best  political  argu- 
ment ever  delivered.  One  of  its  epigrams  has  been  quoted 
thousands  of  times. 

"When  the  white  man  governs  himself,"  said  he,  "that 
I  acknowledge  is  self  government,  but  when  the  white 
man  governs  himself  and  another  man,  that  I  call 
despotism." 

One  of  Lincoln's  later  accomplishments  was  his 
Gettysburg  address  which  was  destined  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. This  speech,  which  he  delivered  at  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  Soldiers'   Cemetery  at  Gettysburg  in  1863, 


was  one  of  the  noblest  utterances  from  human  lips. 
Lincoln's  second  inaugural  address  was  a  work  of  art. 
A  famous  excerpt  from  it  is: 

"With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with 
firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right." 

These  excerpts  from  famous  speeches  delivered  by 
Lincoln  show  his  wonderful  character.  They  show  his 
masterfulness  of  words  and  declamation. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  when  peace  had  once  more 
been  restored  and  the  country  was  ready  for  reconstruc- 
tion Lincoln  was  taken  from  our  midst.  The  whole  coun- 
try mourned,  Northerners  and  Southerners  alike.  He 
had  finished  his  work  in  this  world,  leaving  behind  him 
thoughts  of  the  Preserver  of  Our  Country.  He  had  lived 
through  the  country's  crisis  and  had  reunited  the  nation. 

Like  some  of  the  other  greatest  men  that  have  lived 
Lincoln  had  done  an  imforgetful  piece  of  work  and  be- 
fore he  could  see  his  country  and  people  benefitted  by 
it,  he  was  no  more.   As  James  A.  Garfield  has  said: 

"It  was  no  one  man  who  killed  Abraham  Lincoln; 
it  was  the  embodied  spirit  of  treason  and  slavery,  in- 
spired with  fearful  and  despairing  hate,  that  struck  him 
down  in  the  moment  of  the  nation's  supremest  joy." 

Lillian  Hertz— J.  H.  S.  186  dB^ 


II      w 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

973.7L63GH443A  C001 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  NY 


0112  031819680 


